CEBU Province is leaving no stone unturned in their preparation for both the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa) meet on Feb. 17 to 22 in Dumaguete City and the 2019 Batang Pinoy Visayas Leg on Feb. 23 to March 2 in Iloilo City.
The Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu Province division wants to regain the second place ranking after falling to fifth spot in the Cviraa meet in Bohol last year. With that in mind, the delegation will have a 27-day centralized training starting next week in the Municipality of Carmen in northern Cebu.
“Our ranking last year was down. We hope we emulate the delegation’s performance during the Cviraa in City of Naga a few years back when we placed second overall,” the Cebu Provincial Schools division coordinator Nenita Jaralve told SunStar Cebu. “Second place is our aim. We’re not even thinking of the top spot because the meet is really dominated by Cebu City.”
The Cebu City Niños have been the overall champion in the Cviraa meet for the past 26 years.
Cebu Province will be sending 768 athletes and coaches. The Cviraa meet is the qualifying event for the 2019 Palarong Pambansa in Davao City.
Jaralve said this number is higher compared to last year’s delegation. The team will join in all regular and demonstration sports.
“Right now, we are here with the coaches, tournament managers and credential committee to complete the athletes’ credentials. Next week is the start of the training. Most of the venues of the centralized training are in Carmen,” she said.
On the other hand, the Cebu Provincial Sports Commission (CPSC) is also getting ready for the Batang Pinoy Visayas Leg, a grassroots event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission.
CPSC executive director Ramil Abing told SunStar Cebu in a separate interview that the Province of Cebu will be sending more than 300 athletes to Iloilo City.
The team of CPSC will also attend the Visayas delegation coordination meeting on Jan. 27 to 29.
“More or less 370 people in the delegation including the coaches. It’s higher compared to last year. More athletes will get the chance to qualify for the national finals,” he said.
The winners in the Visayas Leg will advance to the national finals together with the athletes from the Mindanao and Luzon qualifiers.
“Since the start of the year, we have instructed the coaches to conduct trainings and practices for the athletes,” Abing said.
With only one day separating the Cviraa meet and the Batang Pinoy Visayas qualifiers, Abing said it can’t be avoided that there will be a few athletes who will be affected with the schedules.
“We will adjust the athletes’ travel for Iloilo City,” he said.